8 Postpartum Must-Haves for a Successful Recovery After Baby

Postpartum difficulties are not often discussed. As wonderful as welcoming a new baby into the world is, it is also a very hard transition for a mother both mentally and physically. Of course, there are many more life demands that come with taking care of a newborn, but also, there are many demands and pressures that are put on your body after giving birth.

After giving birth, there are different parts of a woman's body that have gone through an extreme amount of stress and change. You want to make sure that you have all the necessities ready after childbirth to ensure the most comfortable postpartum recovery. We have put together a list of some of the top must-have products to help new moms feel good, heal quickly, and get their body’s back to how they were before having a child.

Must-Have Products to Ease Recovery

These are eight different products we recommend using postpartum that are sure to help you with a successful recovery.

1. Maternity Maxi Pads

It is extremely common for both vaginal bleeding and vaginal discharge to occur after giving birth. Typically, your body will continue to expel this discharge for several weeks after giving birth, and using Maxi pads will help ensure you stay comfortable and dry. There are several brands of Maxi Pads that are designed especially for postpartum use. Using a Maxi pad will help with any bleeding or discharge that occurs after giving birth. Using tampons or menstrual cups after giving birth is not recommended and can actually cause more damage to your healing uterus. Ensuring that you are stocked up on plenty of Maxi Pads for your return home after giving birth will help make you more comfortable and stop any unneeded embarrassing accidents.

2. Mesh Underwear

In addition to having maternity pads, it is also a good idea to have several pairs of disposable underwear too. Often, especially right after childbirth, menstrual bleeding or discharge can be very heavy and may even leak through to your underwear. So the easiest thing to do is to wear disposable mesh underwear so you can throw them away after wearing them. Mesh underwear is very stretchy and breathable; they can easily fit the large maxi pad and give you at least a little more comfort.

3. Peri Rinse Bottle

Using a peri rinse bottle will help you go to the bathroom more easily after giving birth. After childbirth, and more specifically if you gave birth vaginally, there are many changes that occur to the vaginal opening. Generally, your vagina will be swollen and stretched after a natural birth and will likely be very tender. The peri bottle is used to skirt warm water to the area before, during, and after urinating. Since it may be a little harder to start the process, squirting warm water in the vagina area will help you relax and start peeing. While you are peeing, if you continue to squirt the water, it will help relieve the stinging sensation some mothers experience while urinating. And then, after you are finished, you can use the rinse bottle to clean the area instead of wiping with toilet paper which may be sore.

4. Ice Pack

Another ideal piece of equipment to ease your postpartum comfort is an ice pack. After childbirth, there will be a lot of swelling in your vagina, and an ice pack will help reduce some of this swelling. You can simply place the ice pack over the region, which should also help give you some pain relief as well. Applying ice to the area is extremely effective, especially within the first 24 hours after giving birth.

5. Pain Medicine

After giving birth, you will likely be sore in all different places. Using an oral pain medication like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help with both reducing swelling and easing your pain so that you can move around more easily. In general, both these pain relief products are safe to use after giving birth and while breastfeeding, but we recommend you talk to a doctor first before taking them.

6. Epsom Salts

Having an Epsom salt bath is a great way to soothe different types of pain and popular for women healing from childbirth. You can either soak in a bath with Epsom salt or use a sitz bath that rests over the top of the toilet bowl and used to soak the perineum area for around 15 minutes. The Epsom salts should help with any aches and discomfort in that area.

7. A Postpartum Girdle

After childbirth, your body has gone through many changes, and using a girdle to help recover and ease the pain is a very helpful tool. Bellefit has multiple different girls styles to choose from that may help with lower back pain and posture after giving birth. Also, wearing a girdle can help with stabilizing your pelvic floor and giving your abdominal muscles more support.

8. Donut Pillow

A donut-shaped pillow is specially designed for postpartum use. They will help you sleep and rest more easily and allow you to be more comfortable after giving birth. You can use the donut pillow to sit on while propping yourself up and easing the pressure on your perineum. Also, you can use it to prop up your baby while you are holding them or breastfeeding them so they are not putting too much pressure on your abdomen.

Be Prepared

For the past 9 months, you and your family have been awaiting the birth of your child and it is all very exciting to get things ready for the baby’s arrival. However, equally as important is being ready for your recovery as a mother after carrying and giving birth to your baby.

Make sure that you have all the essentials you need ready at home for when your baby arrives. Being prepared with the products we mentioned above can relieve a lot of the stress and discomfort that will occur after giving birth.